Egyptian judges announce strike in protest at Morsi decree

The body representing Egypt's
judges called on Saturday for an immediate strike in all courts and prosecutors offices in protest against President Mohamed Morsi's
decree
expanding his powers.

At a meeting in Cairo, the Judges Club called on Morsi to retract the decree and to reinstate Abdel Maguid Mahmoud, the Hosni Mubarak-era prosecutor general who was sacked as part of the decision unveiled on Thursday.

Earlier on Saturday, Egypt's highest body of judges slammed Morsi's decision, calling the move an "unprecedented assault" on the judiciary.

In a statement carried on Egypt's official MENA news agency, the Supreme Judicial Council condemned this week's declaration by President Mohammed Morsi placing his decrees above judicial review until a new constitution and parliament is in place, several months if not more in the future.

Back in Tahrir Square (Photo: Reuters)

Their condemnation of the president's edicts are the latest blow to Morsi, whose decision Thursday set off a firestorm of controversy
and prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets in nationwide protests Friday.

Through their statement, the judges join a widening list of leaders and activists from Egypt's political factions, including some Islamists, who have denounced the decree.

Near-absolute power. Egypt's Morsi (Photo: AFP)

Meanwhile, prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said there could be no dialogue with Morsi until he rescinded the "dictatorial" decree that he said gave him the powers of a pharaoh.

"There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says 'let us split the difference'," ElBaradei said in an interview with Reuters and the Associated Press after talks with other opposition figures.

"I am waiting to see, I hope soon, a very strong statement of condemnation by the US, by Europe and by everybody who really cares about human dignity," he said.

The Supreme Judicial Council is packed with judges appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak. It regulates judicial promotions and is chaired by the head of the Court of Cassation.

Their move reflects a broad sense of anger within the judiciary. Some judges' groups and prosecutors have already announced partial strikes to protest Morsi's decree.

The edicts Morsi issued mean that no judicial body can dissolve the upper house of parliament or the current assembly writing the new constitution, which are also both led by the Brotherhood. Supporters of Morsi feared that court might in fact dissolve one of these bodies, further postponing Egypt's transition under the aegis of a new constitution.

Protests in Cairo, Friday (Photo: AFP)

The judges' council's stand against the president sets the ground for an uneasy alliance between former regime officials and activist groups that helped topple Mubarak's regime and have in the past derided those officials as "felool," or remnants.

The presidents' opponents nonetheless see the judiciary as the only remaining civilian branch of government with a degree of independence, since Morsi already holds executive power and as well as legislative authority due to the dissolution of parliament.

The judges released their statement following an emergency meeting Saturday. They said Morsi's decision is an "unprecedented assault on the judiciary and it rulings" and called on the president to "distance himself from the declaration and all things that touch judicial authority, its specifications or interference in its members or its rulings."

Egyptians take to the streets (Photo: AFP)

The primary court in Alexandria and the judges' club there announced Saturday they and public prosecutors have suspended all work until the declaration is withdrawn, according to the state news agency MENA.

One of the most controversial edicts states that the president has the right to take any steps to prevent "threats to the revolution," wording that activists say is vague and harkens back to the type of language employed by Mubarak to clamp down on dissent.

Several hundred protesters remained in Cairo's Tahrir Square Saturday, where a number of tents have been erected in a sit-in following nearly a week of clashes with riot police. The country's most prominent opposition groups called for another mass rally on Tuesday, saying that the edicts make Morsi a "new pharaoh."

Health ministry officials quoted in state media said more than 200 people were wounded nationwide in the clashes Friday. Security officials said more than 100 police were also wounded in clashes in Cairo near Tahrir Square where protesters have been battling security forces for days to demand retribution for the killing of 42 protesters in November of last year.